Fire school sale to go before Allentown council

City plans to sell property that the FAA has said would violate a past agreement.

January 02, 2013|By Emily Opilo, Of The Morning Call

Allentown officials are moving forward with a plan to sell a piece of property next to the Queen City Airport that the Federal Aviation Administration has said would violate an agreement that gave the city control of the land.

The 2.4-acre property at 1902 Lehigh St. currently houses a training tower and mobile classrooms used for the city's fire training academy. A bill that will be introduced to Allentown City Council this week proposes selling the parcel for $978,000 to Health Network Laboratories — a move that Mayor Ed Pawlowski said will keep 300 jobs in the city.

But according to a July 2012 letter from the FAA, the sale would violate an agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice, Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority and the city that recognizes the city's retention and ownership in perpetuity.

"A sale of a portion of this parcel would not appear to be consistent with the express terms of the settlement agreement," the letter states.

But Pawlowski said Allentown officials have been working with the FAA to iron out an agreement and settle on a fair value for the land.

Plans call for the city to sell the land to Health Network Laboratories, a subsidiary of Lehigh Valley Health Network, which would expand an existing facility next door. Fire classrooms on the site would be relocated to the city's police training academy, and firefighters would train at a newly constructed tower in Emmaus, Pawlowski said.

That news came as a surprise to Mike Rosenfeld, president of the Lehigh Valley General Aviation Association, a group that has opposed Pawlowski's proposed use of the proceeds from the sale. The city was granted ownership of the land with a specific purpose, he said.

The dispute stems from the 2000 agreement reached over accusations that the city had been selling off pieces of the property surrounding the airport and not properly accounting for the proceeds.

The U.S. Justice Department and the FAA alleged that the city, which was entrusted with the airport in 1944, owed the airport authority more than $1.8 million for non-aviation use of the property and for diverting money from the airport fund. The city did not admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to the settlement, which transferred ownership of most land at the airport to the airport authority.

A portion was withheld by the city for the Mack South Fire Station and training school. The transfer of ownership was clear, Pawlowski said. "There is no issue there," he said.

Representatives for the FAA could not be reached for comment.

If an agreement has been reached, that wouldn't be unexpected, said Charles Everett Jr., director of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority. While the authority hasn't taken a position on the dispute, it has been keeping an eye on the issue, and he backed Pawlowski's assertion that the FAA has been working with the city for months.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa, also weighed in on the issue in mid-2012, urging the FAA to allow city officials to make their case for the sale of the land.

Rosenfeld said his group will continue to fight the city on how the proceeds from the sale would be spent. The land was granted to the city, so the money should be returned to the airport, he said.

"I'm just flabbergasted," Rosenfeld said. "The mayor just seems to be ignoring these rules."

Pawlowski called that sentiment "lunacy." Proceeds from the sale won't be put into city coffers. They will be spent on upgrades to the fire school, he said.

And the sale will put a portion of the property back on the tax rolls, Pawlowski said.

"If anybody should be upset, it should be the city," he said. "For 210 acres (at the airport) to be off our tax rolls — when it could be useful, productive land that could be helping the city taxpayers and school district — going for 50 private planes. That's crazy."